2022 Spring Hiking Season Summary

We, the Trail Society, had 10 scheduled hikes this Spring of 2022. We went to a place many had not been prior..Piney Creek Ravine in Jackson county with its’ Rock art, and had a short Sunday afternoon hike to the Rock House, in the Lusk Creek area, which had the largest attendance.

With Many “Thanks” to our leaders this spring as follows: Todd Carr, Sam Morales, Chris Drone, Mark Motsinger, Bill Gilmour, Bob Mulcahy, Susan & Kerry Durfee, Christopher Benda, Fred Scott, Steve Mitchell and Marcus Owens, who led 175 other hikers over those 10 hikes. Almost every hike had a few people who had not hiked with the Trail Society prior to that day. Welcome to you All. If you enjoyed any of the hikes, and see any of the leaders “out & about’, Please “Thank” them for their time and willingness to explore and lead hikes. We are always open to suggestions & ideas about areas to explore or hike, And, also, are always interested in You possibly becoming a ‘hike leader” in the future.   See Ya’ll on the Trail” & Tell ’em who ya hiked with”!!

Respectfully submitted,

Chris Drone

Trail Society Annual Meeting / Picnic

Hello All!!

The 2022 River To River Trail Society Annual meeting will be here soon. It is scheduled for Saturday, June 4th, 10 am, at the Vienna, IL. City Park, which coincides with National Trails Day The park is adjacent to the Tunnel Hill Trailhead along IL Route 146 midway between I24 (exit 16) and the US Route 45 intersection downtown. We have reserved the Rams Landing shelter which is located in the back of the park. (See photo below)  Considering the current Covid19 environment and the outdoor location, the Trail Society Board voted to go back to our historical practice. As a result, the Society will be providing grilled brats and hotdogs, buns, table service and bottled water. The rest of the picnic will be a potluck and everyone is asked to bring their favorite dish to pass such as a fruit, vegetable, side dish and/or dessert.  If you want something to drink besides water you will have to bring your own. Only picnic tables are included with the shelter so if you want something more comfortable it is suggested you bring your own lawn chair.

  

For the meeting, there will be reports from various board members about the accomplishments from the past year and possible future projects. During the business meeting, the Society will also be electing Society officers and board members for the next year.

    Following the business meeting, the Society has arranged for Don Monty to speak on the early happenings of the River to River Trail and the Society. Don worked with our founder, John O’Dell, to get the Trail started and actually wrote most of the western portions of the first four trail guides. Hopefully Don can share when and why the western portion of the trail was so significantly changed to eliminate a large loop that went north toward Pomona instead of toward Alto Pass as it does now.

Depending on her progress on the American Discovery Trail, we are also planning on inviting Brianna DeSanctis who is expected to be somewhere in Illinois at the time of the event. To find out more about her, you can search for “Rocky Mountain High on the American Discovery” in Facebook or check out this link. https://www.capegazette.com/article/hiker-trying-be-first-female-do-discovery-trail-solo/233093

Please, come join us, learn what being a officer or board member might entail. No hikes are planned for the event. You are welcome to bring a friend interested in hiking, or a significant other.

As we did last year, several members brought bikes and enjoyed a ride on the Tunnel Hill state trail to work off the meal.

May 7, 2022 – Lusk/Indian Kitchen Hike Summary

For the last official River to River Trail Society hike of the Spring 2022 hiking season, we met at the old Shawnee Mart parking lot on IL. Rt. 145 at Eddyville. Marcus Owens & Steve Mitchell were our leaders for the day. We usually ‘finish up’ our Spring hiking season every other  year with this hike into some area of Lusk Creek.  We had 17 other hikers,including a couple of new hikers.  We split into 2 groups after the Group picture was taken at the Indian Kitchen trailhead parking area. 1 group, led by Marcus, moved on down to the end of the road and went into the woods from there, and Steves’ group just crossed the road from the parking area, heading into the woods. Marcus’ group hiked along and crossed Bear Branch, then headed to a spot that at 1 time, ( a long time ago) was some sort of mine..the indicator being a large pile of soil several dozen feet high, with an opening at the top. Some of the trails were a bit muddy, which, with mud on the soles of boots, created some ‘slick’ stream crossings. Stream flows were high enough, that todays’ routes had to be modified. We got to Lusk Creek, but never attempted to cross it. We ate lunch at 1 shelter bluff, at which about 6 gents from Benton IL. had spent the night camping. We made it to Indian Kitchen on Lusk Creek, but, the temps weren’t warm enough for anyone to go swimming. We saw 1 lone horse rider & his dog, and 1 family of 3 having a picnic lunch and taking in the scenic greenery. Marcus’ group took an older trail back to the parking lot, and avoided a lot of mud. Wonderfully, we picked up little trash today. Keep up the Good work on that item folks. (Leave No Trace).

It seems like it was just a few days ago, when Todd Carr led the 1st hike this spring, on a Sunny, but chilly day, in the One Horse Gap area.

  Our next ‘outing’ will be the official Annual Meeting of the River to River Trail Society. This Will take place On Sat. June 4th,2022, at 10 am, with the location somewhat to be determined. SO, with that in mind, be ‘on the lookout’ either from email or on our Facebook page, with notification about more details. Our speaker will be Don Monty, who helped John O’Dell with getting the River to River Trail started. Don has led hikes in the past for us, in the Hutchens Creek area, on the West side.  We also will be conducting the business meeting. ANYONE who has, at 1 time, hiked with us, is welcome to come to the meeting. We also will be electing officers for the coming year. 

April 30, 2022 – Giant City Hike Summary

Sat. April 30th, we met at the visitors’ center at Giant City State Park. Fred Scott led 18 other hikers, in and around various areas of the park. It was a bit overcast, but Temps were almost perfect  We carpooled from the Visitor center, turning West just a few hundred feet North, and went over to Makanda, then parked just down the road South of Makanda. We headed ‘up hill’ for a bit, then leveled. off. Fred had scouted this hike about 3 times over the last few months, so he “knew’ it.  We found several shelter bluffs, including the 1st at a barely-dribbling Rush Falls. Along the way, we saw several old “stone” bridge abutments, probably left over from the CCC era. Late in the morning, we met up with several other groups of hikers, then Fred had the Perfect lunch spot picked out…it had picnic tables and just about anything a hiker could need or want. We took the group picture at another nice shelter bluff, full of “fallen ceiling tiles”, and eventually ended back at the Visitor center parking area. We hiked about 4.5 miles.

Our Next, and, Last hike for the Spring 2022 hiking season, will be Saturday, May 7th, in the Lusk Creek area, meeting at the old Shawnee Mart parking lot. It will be led by Marcus Owens, & Steve Mitchell. Please Be Sure to Register for this hike, as we will be having “groups of 10′ since it is in a Wilderness area.  Until then, “See ya’ll on the Trail.

May 1, 2022 Trail Society Picks Up 1/2 Ton of Trash  

On May 1, 2022 the River to River Trail Society sponsored a trash blast along  2.5 miles of the River to River trail from Elizabethtown to a 1/2 mile north of Lake Tecumsah.  The volunteer crew shown in the above photos from left to right include Melanie Kasson, David Files, Carl Brannon, Kali Griffin, Lindsey Roberts, Earl Neff, Bill Gilmour, Charles Kahle, Sam  Morales, Jim Todd, Nate Heldenbrand, Chris Drone, Bob Mulcahy and Debbie Towne.  The team met at the Rose Hotel in Elizabethtown at 10:00 AM and the work was completed by 2:00 PM 

The crew picked up and hauled out of the woods, 9 tires, a bed frame, a porcelain toilet and 26 bags of trash mostly consisting of cans and bottles.  The total estimated weight of the clean-up effort was 1050 pounds of trash.  The trash completely filled the dumpster at Garden of the Gods campground.

The crew also verified that 3-4 large trees had been removed from the R2R trail between Elizabethtown and Bassett road had been cut and removed by the Shawnee National Forest crews and cut a path through a 32” tree over the trail just south of Whoopie Cat Lake.

It was a great team and a exceptional effort by all involved and the Trail Society would like to thank all that came out and helped.   If you know any of the crew, be sure to thank the personally.

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